The headquarters of the Finnish Environment Institute is moving to the Viikki campus

The headquarters of the Finnish Environment Institute is moving to the Viikki campus

Press release 2018-11-09 at 11:17

The headquarters of the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) is moving on 19th November 2018 from the Töölö borough of Helsinki to the University of Helsinki’s Viikki campus (street address: Latokartanonkaari 11). SYKE’s new base at Viikki is a truly modern working environment, where care and attention has been paid to environmentally sustainable solutions.

The relocation to the University of Helsinki campus will enable SYKE to develop a new and more effective way of collaborating with not only the University of Helsinki, but with other organisations working in this sector, too. The Viikki campus is also home to the headquarters of Luke – Natural Resources Institute Finland and Evira – the Finnish Food Safety Authority (Finnish Food Authority as of 1 January 2019). In terms of the university presence on the campus, Viikki serves as a hub for research and teaching in the biological sciences, agriculture and forestry, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine.

"I am convinced that cooperation with, for example, the University of Helsinki’s new Institute of Sustainability Science will gather speed as soon as we make the move to Viikki. The move will also see closer collaboration with the various laboratories in the area. The close proximity of the labs will make it possible for them to become specialised, for many work processes to be combined, to work on joint projects, and for staff and equipment to be flexibly shared", says Director General of SYKE, Lea Kauppi.

The relocation of SYKE’s Helsinki facilities to Viikki is happening in stages. In September 2017, SYKE’s marine research lab moved from Kumpula to the Viikki campus. Currently, the conference centre shared by SYKE, Luke, and the University of Helsinki is already based in Viikki. The last stage of the relocation will see SYKE's lab centre moving to the new site in autumn 2019.

A modern workplace – maximising space and energy efficiency

"The SYKE staff based at the Viikki site work in a modern, versatile office; one that facilitates a much more efficient used of space than before. The result of this is much lower expenditure on energy and real estate. In developing the new office spaces, we wanted to create the best resources also for those employees who bicycle to work, which is something that SYKE recommends to its staff", says Minna Öster, Real Estate Manager at the Finnish Environment Institute.

Another move to increasing efficiency and sustainability has seen a proportion of the new HQ’s energy needs being met by solar power. The solar panels are to be installed on the building’s roof as part of a University of Helsinki project being carried out over the course of 2018.

The new address for the Finnish Environment Institute at the Viikki campus is: